Attitudes About Sex and Marital Sexual Behavior in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74926/1/j.1728-4465.2005.00047.x.pd

Functional neuroanatomy of interoceptive processing in children and adolescents: a pilot study

In adults, interoception – the sense of the physiological condition of the body - appears to influence emotion processing, cognition, behavior and various somatic and mental health disorders. Adults demonstrate frontal-insula-parietal-anterior cingulate cortex activation during the heartbeat detection task, a common interoceptive measure. Little, however, is known about the functional neuroanatomy underlying interoception in children. The current pilot study examined interoceptive processing in children and adolescents with fMRI while using the heartbeat detection task. Our main findings demonstrate that children as young as the age of six activate the left insula, cuneus, inferior parietal lobule and prefrontal regions. These findings are similar to those in adults when comparing heartbeat and tone detection conditions. Age was associated with increased activation within the dACC, orbital frontal cortex and the mid-inferior frontal gyri. Thus, our pilot study may provide important information about the neurodevelopment of interoceptive processing abilities in children and a task for future interoception neuroimaging studies in children

Creating new traditions in modern Chinese societies: Aiming for birth in the Year of the Dragon

This research documents and interprets a new demographic phenomenon in which several Chinese societies have begun to use their ancient lunar zodiac calendar as a guide in timing births. Birth data indicate that the phenomenon began with a baby boom in the Year of the Dragon in 1976 among Chinese in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia outside of the People\u27s Republic of China, and it has occurred over a broad socioeconomic spectrum. The two major questions that the thesis addresses are why such zodiacal birth preferences were not exhibited prior to 1976 and why the size of the annual fertility fluctuations has varied so widely over space and time. One explanation for the recency of the phenomenon maintains that Chinese fertility was too high and uncontrolled prior to the advent of modern contraception for these ancient zodiacal preferences to be exhibited. My findings do not indicate, however, that modern contraception was necessary in order to time these births. The Japanese, in a related phenomenon, have been avoiding births in the Year of the Fire Horse since 1726. Furthermore, an analysis of recent survey data indicates that, although modern contraception aided couples in timing Dragon Births in 1976, behavioral strategies involving marriage, abortion, and coital frequency were also utilized. I also find that modern contraception is insufficient in explaining why couples were motivated to exhibit zodiacal birth timing. After analyzing the results of survey data, items from the print media, my own field work, and a variety of cultural and secondary source materials, I conclude that the origins of zodiacal birth timing, as well as its varying intensity over space and time, must be understood as the product of historical, political, and institutional circumstances. Although this phenomenon represents a persistence of traditional symbolism, my interpretation is that it is more accurately described as a newly created tradition of behavior

The North Korean Famine and Its Demographic Impact

The North Korean famine began in 1995 and its ill effects, while peaking in the late 1990s,undoubtedly linger. Recent conjectures on excess deaths caused by the famine range widely from about 200,000 to 3 million or more. This article assesses the demographic impact of the famine with greater rigor than has previously been attempted and describes the unique setting in which the famine occurred. The analysis begins with a pair of population projections based on mortality statistics from two sources. Given their contradictory implications, the analysis turns to less direct evidence of famine-related mortality. That evidence includes China's demographic experience during the Great Leap Forward and recent measurements of child malnutrition in North Korea. Crosscountry comparisons translate this malnutrition into corresponding levels of infant mortality. The article concludes that famine-related deaths in North Korea from 1995 to 2000 most likely numbered between 600,000 and 1 million. Copyright 2001 by The Population Council, Inc..

Using Photovoice to Identify Service Needs of Older African American Methadone Clients

This article presents findings from a photovoice project designed to identify service needs of older-adult African American methadone clients, as well as their current barriers to and supports for abstinence. The project involved 10 participants (aged 53 to 63 years old) recruited from a methadone maintenance program in a large Northeastern U.S. city. Thematic analysis techniques were used to analyze participants’ narratives of their pictures. Transportation emerged as a significant challenge to accessing services, and caregiving was a motivation for remaining abstinent. Future research should use similar participatory methods and engage a broader group of aging people struggling with substance abuse

The demographic impact and development benefits of meeting demand for family planning with modern contraceptive methods

Background: Meeting demand for family planning can facilitate progress towards all major themes of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. Many policymakers have embraced a benchmark goal that at least 75% of the demand for family planning in all countries be satisfied with modern contraceptive methods by the year 2030. Objective: This study examines the demographic impact (and development implications) of achieving the 75% benchmark in 13 developing countries that are expected to be the furthest from achieving that benchmark. Methods: Estimation of the demographic impact of achieving the 75% benchmark requires three steps in each country: 1) translate contraceptive prevalence assumptions (with and without intervention) into future fertility levels based on biometric models, 2) incorporate each pair of fertility assumptions into separate population projections, and 3) compare the demographic differences between the two population projections. Data are drawn from the United Nations, the US Census Bureau, and Demographic and Health Surveys. Results: The demographic impact of meeting the 75% benchmark is examined via projected differences in fertility rates (average expected births per woman’s reproductive lifetime), total population, growth rates, age structure, and youth dependency. On average, meeting the benchmark would imply a 16 percentage point increase in modern contraceptive prevalence by 2030 and a 20% decline in youth dependency, which portends a potential demographic dividend to spur economic growth. Conclusions: Improvements in meeting the demand for family planning with modern contraceptive methods can bring substantial benefits to developing countries. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show formally how such improvements can alter population size and age structure. Declines in youth dependency portend a demographic dividend, an added bonus to the already well-known benefits of meeting existing demands for family planning